waitress for Nina, moved to stand next to her. “Nina, are you sure you’re really okay? I know you with your Pollyanna smiles and your need to make everyone else feel comfortable and happy, but you went through quite a trauma last night.”
“I’m fine, really,” Nina assured her. Wilma had no idea what kind of trauma Nina had endured in her life before last night. “I won’t lie, it was a horrible night, but I’m confident that Flint will find Hank Bittard soon, and he won’t be an issue for me or anyone else anymore.”
Wilma’s eyes darkened. “Everyone in town wants that murdering creep back in jail where he belongs. He was a bully as a teenager, and now he’s responsible for two people’s deaths.”
“And don’t forget the officer who is still in the clinic recovering from the injuries he received when Hank escaped,” Nina added.
“At least you have one of the most handsome bodyguards in town.” Wilma winked slyly. “There are plenty of single women in Dead River who think the chief of police would be a fine catch. They wouldn’t mind being in his custody for at least a night or two.”
Nina laughed. “Don’t go starting any rumors about my love life, or lack thereof. I have no attraction to Flint, and in any case, he has more than enough on his plate without adding in any time for romance. I imagine that’s the last thing he’s thinking about right now.”
“Maybe, but you’ve been here in town for a little over three years, and you’ve never even dated anyone,” Wilma said with obvious curiosity.
“In case you haven’t noticed it, I’ve had a fairly demanding business to run. Besides, I’m not looking for anyone in my life. I’m perfectly satisfied alone, always have been and always will be. Now get back to work and stop trying to matchmake for me.”
“It’s just a darn shame. You’re so warm and have such a big heart. You’d make somebody a wonderful wife.” Wilma sighed and disappeared into the kitchen.
Flint had called earlier to tell her that he would pick her up at five o’clock, and at precisely that time his car pulled in front of the diner.
She started out the door, but he halted her by placing his hand up to keep her just inside the doorway. He got out of the car and came into the diner and greeted her with a grim smile.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said. He looked exhausted, as if he’d fought with the day, and the day had definitely won. He took her by the arm and pulled her close against him.
Instantly, she was surrounded by the pleasant scent of him and the solidness of his tall, muscular body intimately close to hers. He kept her close against him until they reached the passenger side of the car and only then did he release her.
She slid into the seat and watched as he walked around the front of the car to the driver’s-side door. He cut a handsome figure in the black uniform that fit him perfectly and with the cowboy hat that added a rakish flair.
She knew he had her safety upmost in her mind, but she couldn’t help the faint wariness that mingled with her physical attraction to him.
She had lied to Wilma. She’d been attracted to Flint Colton since the very first time he’d walked into her diner about a year ago, but there was no question in her mind that he could never be the man for her. Besides, what she hadn’t lied about to Wilma was that she was fine living her life alone.
She’d made the decision a long time ago that marriage wasn’t in her future, and nothing in her thirty-one years of living had come close to changing her mind.
“You look positively exhausted,” she said as he got into the car.
“I think that’s become my permanent state of being over the past couple of weeks,” he replied. The lines of his face that made it interesting, that gave him character, appeared deeper than usual.
“If you don’t feel like stopping by the discount store now, I can make do for another night and have one of the other waitresses take me tomorrow,” she suggested. “I’ve got plenty of uniforms at the diner to put on during the day.”
He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. I don’t want you going anywhere with anyone else but me. We’ll swing by the store and pick up what you need and then stop to get some groceries. I haven’t forgotten that you said you’d cook for me while you’re under my protection.” He flashed her a quick smile that warmed her from head to toe. “So, how was your day?”
“I was the talk of the town,” she replied. He headed down Main Street toward the store where she could buy whatever she needed to get her through for a week or two. “It’s amazing how fast the grapevine works in small towns. Everyone who came in already knew about Jolene’s murder and the fire at my house and there were definitely more customers in today than has been in the past couple of weeks.”
“I wish somebody had been able to tell you where Bittard is hiding out,” he replied. “We worked today interviewing some of his former friends, but nobody professes to have any idea where he might be holed up.”
“I wish somebody would have given me some information you could use. I’m used to being independent and coming and going as I please.” A sudden knot of emotion pressed tight in her chest. “Now I don’t even have a house to come and go from.”
Despite the fact that she’d had the entire day to process everything that had happened, it still didn’t feel real to her. She felt as if she had stepped into somebody else’s life and was just waiting to get back into her own.
“Did you contact your insurance company today?” he asked.
“I did, but unfortunately, the adjustor is not local and so he can’t get into town to do anything right now. I can start the paperwork, and I need reports from the fire chief, but there’s little else that can be done until the quarantine is lifted.”
“You’re welcome to stay at my place for as long as you need, even after I get Bittard in custody,” he replied.
“Thanks, I appreciate the offer, but as soon as you get Bittard back in jail, I’ll either rent a small apartment or just use the back room of the diner until I can figure things out and get the house rebuilt.”
His offer confused her. Why would he want to be stuck with her any longer than he had to? She couldn’t help the flutter of emotion that stirred in her. She’d never had a man be so protective of her, especially a man she found so attractive.
“Right now you don’t have to worry about where you’re living. As long as Bittard is loose, you’re stuck with me. We issued a press release this afternoon indicating that we have a witness in protective custody and that the investigation into Jolene’s murder is ongoing. We didn’t name a suspect.”
“At this moment, I can’t be one hundred percent certain that the man I saw was Hank Bittard,” she replied.
“And that’s why we didn’t name him,” he replied.
She was grateful when they reached the store and she could step out of the interior of the car where his woodsy cologne wrapped around her and his nearness was definitely unsettling to her peace of mind.
She didn’t want to like the way he smelled. She didn’t want to like the way his piercing green eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. It was like an
